Death Row became one of the highest-selling labels of the early 90s and, as its first release, The Chronic turned its guest stars Snoop Dogg, The Dogg Pound (Daz Dillinger and Kurupt), Nate Dogg, Warren G and The Lady Of Rage into household names, setting the stage for the many solo releases that followed in its wake.It would seem no one told me that “Dre Day” becomes “Fuck Wit Dre Day” when you don’t have to worry about FCC violations. The Chronic is not only a landmark record for Dre it served notice to the rest of the country: West Coast hip-hop wasn’t going anywhere. Dre became one of the ten best-selling American performing artists of 1993, with The Chronic spending eight months in the Billboard Top 10 – an unheard-of feat for a hip-hop album at that time. Released on December 15, 1992, The Chronic peaked at No.3 on the Billboard 200 and sold three million copies in the US alone, eventually going multi-platinum. With hilarious skits, hardcore jams, and thought-provoking commentary, The Chronic is more than a great album, it’s an experience. “Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat” is a classic gangsta rap anthem that encapsulates the West Coast G-Funk vibe “Lil Ghetto Boy” details the piercing reality of life in the inner cities of Los Angeles “The Day The Ni_az Took Over” offers a live account of the LA riots that erupted following the Rodney King trial. While the singles marked the album’s stand-out moments, The Chronic is remarkable for its hard-hitting deep cuts. Thanks to his fusion of 70s soul samples and funky productions, Dre helped to usher in the era of melodic rap: “Let Me Ride” rode all the way to No.34 on the Billboard charts and nabbed Dre a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance during the 1994 Grammy Awards. With his skillful use of Parliament’s live rendition of the “Swing Down Sweet Chariot” refrain, featuring the soulful vocals of Glen Goins, Dre created a sonic backdrop that showcased his sophisticated technical genius. The Chronic’s third and final single, “Let Me Ride,” is a prime example of Dre’s production mastery. Accompanied again by Snoop Dogg, the video for the track featured a fake Eazy-E and poured more fuel on the fire as the former friends became bitter enemies, “F_k Wit Dre Day” raced up the chart, peaking at No.8. The scathing diss track “F_k Wit Dre Day (And Everybody’s Celebratin’)” is a ruthless (pun definitely intended) assault on Eazy-E, with jabs at Tim Dog and 2 Live Crew’s Luther “Luke Skyywalker” Campbell for good measure. Dre is at the door” – Dre asserted his place in the hip-hop landscape with a bona fide classic that reached No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100. With one of the most recognizable opening bars in hip-hop history – “One, two, three and to the four/Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Sampling Leon Haywood’s ‘I Wanna Do Something Freaky To You’ and featuring a superstar in the making, Snoop Doggy Dogg(as he was known then), ‘Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang’ was the perfect introduction to Dre the solo artist. Unlike his contemporaries on the East Coast who sampled disco and jazz records, Dre’s brand of hip-hop relied upon the influences of George Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic collective – aka P-Funk.ĭre signaled that something new was on hip-hop’s horizon with The Chronic’s first single, ‘Nuthin’ But A “G” Thang’. Dre was transformed from great beatmaker into a composer par excellence, orchestrating the length and breadth of the project and becoming hip-hop’s answer to Quincy Jones.ĭeploying a funk- and sample-infused strain of hip-hop, The Chronic introduced to the world the G-Funk sound and galvanized the West Coast hip-hop style that would completely dominate the genre. Named after a slang term for top-of-the-line cannabis and sporting a tribute to Zig-Zag rolling papers on its cover, The Chronic caused a seismic shift in the music industry.
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